Technology for managing cloud storage

ABSTRACT

Described herein is technology for managing cloud storage. In particular, systems, devices and methods for managing cloud storage are described. In some embodiments, management of cloud storage may result in the designation of storage allocated to a first storage pool as obsolete, and the reallocation and/or reclamation of such storage to a second storage pool and/or a general cloud storage pool. Management may occur in accordance with one or more policies.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to systems, devices, andmethods (“technology”) for managing storage, and, more particularly, totechnology for managing storage in a cloud computing environment.

BACKGROUND

Interest is increasing in the use of cloud computing to address thecomputing needs of corporations and other entities. Cloud computing maybe understood as the use of hardware, infrastructure, storage, services,interfaces, combinations thereof and the like to deliver computingservices such as software, infrastructure, and storage to a client overa network such as an enterprise network, a private network, or a publicnetwork such as the internet. In a hybrid cloud model, a corporation orother entity (“user”) may implement a private (e.g., enterprise) cloudto provide software, storage, etc. to clients, and may utilize a thirdparty cloud such as a public (internet) cloud, a community cloud,another private cloud, or a combination thereof to provide additionalcomputing resources. In such instances, the user may allocate workloadsto the third party cloud, e.g., on demand and/or when resources on theuser's private cloud become depleted/scarce. The hybrid cloud model canbe particularly useful in the case of storage, e.g., where data may bestored in cloud storage provided by one or more cloud storage providers.

Although useful, the hybrid cloud model can be costly and time consumingto manage, particularly in the case of cloud storage. Cloud storageproviders often charge a fee per unit of storage that is allocated to aparticular user. Cloud storage users may therefore be charged forstorage that is not in use, or which is being used to store data orother information that is obsolete or otherwise not of interest. Usersmay consequently wish to actively manage cloud storage and the datastored therein so as to mitigate cost. Cloud storage providers may alsowish to reclaim unused or unnecessary cloud storage from cloud storageusers, so that such storage may be reallocated for more efficient use.

Several options exist for managing (e.g., reclaiming and/orreallocating) cloud storage. Although such options are functional,effective use of them may require monitoring and manual management bycloud storage users and/or providers. Indeed to prudently manage cloudstorage, it may be necessary for a cloud storage user to know when cloudstorage allocated to them will expire, and/or when information containedin such storage is not being used. This can entail cumbersome andlogistically difficult manual monitoring, particularly if cloud storageis allocated to a user in association with numerous virtual machines.

Cloud autoscaling is one option for automatically scaling cloudresources to meet user demand. Although useful, cloud autoscalingoptions generally focus on the scaling of compute resources, not storageresources. For example, a cloud provider may provide one or more virtualmachines (VMs) to a user, each of which may include an associated cloudstorage allowance. In such instances, cloud autoscaling mayautomatically delete entire VMs from the resources provided to the user,e.g., as specified by a service level agreement (SLA) between the cloudprovider and the user. While the VM's themselves may be deleted. VMimages and associated storage may still be allocated to the user andmaintained in the cloud. The user may therefore still be charged for thestorage associated with the VM, even if it is no longer needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system consistent with thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts exemplary modules which may be included in a system inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3. is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of managing cloudstorage, consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one example of managing cloud storage inaccordance with the present disclosure.

While the following Detailed Description will proceed with referencebeing made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives,modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilledin the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted in the Background, several mechanisms exist for manually orautomatically managing resources provided by a cloud provider. Althoughuseful, manually management of cloud resources may be cumbersome andtime consuming, and thus may be undesirable. Existing automaticmechanisms such as cloud autoscaling are also useful, but are generallyfocused on the management of cloud computing resources and not cloudstorage. A need therefore remains in the art for improved mechanisms formanaging cloud storage. The technologies described herein aim to addressthat need.

As will be described in detail below, the technologies of the presentdisclosure relate to devices, systems and methods for managing cloudstorage. In general the technologies employ a policy based storagesweeping process which may be executed to identify “obsolete storage.”Obsolete storage may be understood as cloud storage that is allocated toa cloud user and/or a virtual machine (VM), but which has expired (e.g.,according to a service level agreement), is unused, is unnecessary (asdefined by a service level agreement and/or storage management policy),and combinations thereof. The technologies described herein may permitmanagement (i.e., reclamation and/or reallocation) of obsolete storagein accordance with the parameters of one or more policies. For example,obsolete storage allocated to a cloud user and/or VM may beautomatically reallocated to another user, to another client of a user,and/or to another VM of a user, and combinations thereof. Alternativelyor additionally, obsolete storage may be reclaimed by a cloud storageprovider and added to the provider's general storage pool, e.g., as freespace. In this way, the technologies described herein may allow cloudstorage users and providers to dynamically, and/or automatically managecloud storage in an efficient manner.

As used in this application and in the claims, a list of items joined bythe term “and/or” can mean any combination of the listed items. Forexample, the phrase “A, B and/or C” can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C;B and C; or A, B and C.

The terms “client device” and “client” are interchangeably used hereinto refer to a computing device that may be used to access resourcesprovided by a cloud resource provider, e.g., cloud storage. Any type ofmobile or other electronic device may be used as a client consistentwith the present disclosure, provided that it has the capability tocommunicate with or otherwise access cloud resources. Non-limitingexamples of such devices include mobile and/or non-mobile devices suchas cameras, cell phones, computer terminals, desktop computers,electronic readers, facsimile machines, kiosks, netbook computers,notebook computers, internet devices, payment terminals, personaldigital assistants, media players and/or recorders, servers, set-topboxes, smart phones, tablet personal computers, ultra-mobile personalcomputers, wired telephones, combinations thereof, and the like. Suchdevices may be portable or stationary. Without limitation, the clientdevices described herein are preferably in the form of one or more cellphones, desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, smart phones andtablet personal computers.

The term “cloud storage” is used herein to refer to one or more pools ofstorage that may be hosted by a cloud storage provider (e.g., a thirdparty computing system such as a data center, one or more servers, etc.)for the storage of user (e.g., client) data. Cloud storage may beconfigured to provide a general pool of storage to a user, which may bevirtualized according to the user's requirements, e.g., as specified ina service level agreement (SLA). The cloud storage provider may thenexpose the storage to the user as one or more storage pool(s), which theuser may use to store files and/or data objects. Physically, cloudstorage may be provided by one or more mass storage devices (e.g., harddrives, tapes, solid state memory, combinations thereof, etc.), whichmay be distributed on one or more cloud servers that are geographicallyco-located and/or distributed.

As used herein, the term “manage” when used in association with cloudstorage (e.g., “manage cloud storage”) refers to processes by whichcloud storage may be reallocated, reclaimed, or otherwise altered ormodified.

As used herein the term “module” may refer to software, firmware,circuitry, and combinations thereof, which may be configured to performone or more operations consistent with the present disclosure. Softwaremay be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instructionsets and/or data recorded on one or more non-transitory computerreadable storage mediums. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructionsor instruction sets and/or data that are hard-coded in (e.g.,nonvolatile) memory devices. “Circuitry”, as used in any embodimentherein, may comprise, for example, singly or in any combination,hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry such as computer processorscomprising one or more individual instruction processing cores, statemachine circuitry, software and/or firmware that stores instructionsexecuted by programmable circuitry. The modules described herein maycollectively or individually be embodied as circuitry that forms a partof a client device, a cloud storage device/system, and/or a cloudstorage management device/system. For the sake of clarity, modules maybe described herein in the context of their functionality. In suchinstances, it may be understood that such a module may be independentlycapable of performing the recited functionality, and/or may cause all ora portion of host computing system (e.g., a processor) executing themodule to perform the stated functions.

As used herein, the term “service level agreement” (SLA) refers to anagreement between a user (e.g., client) and a cloud storage providerthat specifies the general terms of service between the parties. Forexample, an SLA may specify that the cloud storage provider will providea general pool of cloud storage of a specified capacity to a user. Insome embodiments, an SLA may specify maximum and/or minimum storageamounts that are to be maintained by the cloud storage provider andallocated to the user.

Although cloud storage may be virtualized as a single large storage poolwhich may be accessed by a user, client(s) of a user, and/or virtualmachines allocated to a user, such virtualization is not required.Indeed, cloud storage may be virtualized in any manner that is suitableto a user, and which may be specified in an SLA. For example, an SLAbetween a cloud storage user and provider may specify that cloud storageis to be virtualized among one or more clients and/or virtual machines(VMs). The SLA in some embodiments may specify one or more “flavors” ofVM's, wherein each flavor may be allocated a particular amount of cloudstorage. For example, the SLA may specify that all VMs of a first flavorhave a specific (e.g., first) amount of allocated cloud storage, whereasVMs of a second flavor have another specific (e.g., second) amount ofallocated cloud storage. Of course, the number of flavors is not limitedto two, and SLAs specifying any number of flavors and associated storageamounts are envisioned by the present disclosure. Still further, an SLAmay further specify storage limits for each virtual machine, e.g., amaximum and/or minimum available storage (volume allocation) for eachVM, a maximum and/or minimum free storage (buffer) for each VM,combinations thereof, and the like.

Of course, an SLA may specify other parameters governing the serviceprovided by a cloud storage provider to a user. For example, an SLA mayinclude parameters requiring a specified degree of uptime, latencyrequirements, notice requirements (e.g., for maintenance), backupservices, number of replicas, geographic locations, post installconfigurations specified by a cloud storage user, combinations thereof,and the like.

In contrast to an SLA, the terms “storage management policy” and “SMP”are interchangeably used herein to refer to one or more policies thatinclude parameters for managing the cloud storage allocated by a cloudstorage provider to a user. As will be described in detail below,parameters of an SMP may permit a user and/or cloud storage provider tomanage cloud storage allocated to the user under an SLA. By way ofexample, an SMP may allow storage allocated to a user under an SLA to bepermanently or temporarily reclaimed by a cloud storage provider in theevent that such storage is determined to be obsolete, e.g., by applyingfactors in the SMP and/or SLA. Alternatively or additionally, obsoletestorage may be reallocated among users, clients, and/or virtualmachines.

By way of example, an SLA may specify that a cloud storage provider isto allocate a first amount of storage, e.g., 100 gigabytes (GB) or someother amount, to a user, a client or a user, and/or one or more virtualmachines. In such instances, an SMP may include one or more parametersthat permit management of all or a portion of the first amount ofstorage in certain specified circumstances. In one exemplary embodiment,the SMP may include parameters permitting management of all or a portionof the first amount of storage if the entirety or relevant portion ofthe first amount of storage is unused by the relevant user, clientand/or virtual machine.

For example, parameters of an SMP may permit management of cloud storageallocated to a user, client, and/or VM if a predetermined amount of suchstorage is unused (i.e., if a free storage allocation threshold size setin an SMP is exceeded). For example, an SMP may include parameters thatdesignate free “(i.e. unused) storage exceeding a free storageallocation threshold as obsolete, and thus available for management. Byway of example, parameters of an SMP may set a free storage allocationthreshold of 50 GB (gigabytes). If 100 GB of cloud storage is initiallyallocated to a client and 70 GB of that storage is unused, the SMPparameters may designate all of a portion of the cloud storage allocatedto the client (e.g., the free storage) as obsolete and available formanagement.

An SMP may further include parameters specifying the maintenance of acertain level of service/storage after reclamation and/or reallocation.For example, an SMP may include parameters requiring a certain (e.g.minimum) amount of free space (hereinafter, a free storage buffer) to bemaintained within storage allocated to a user, client, virtual machine,or combination thereof under an SLA. The free storage buffer may be anyamount that is suitable to the relevant user, client, and/or virtualmachine. For example, the free storage buffer may range from greaterthan 0 to less than 100% of the cloud storage allocated to a user,client, and/or virtual machine, as appropriate. Without limitation thefree storage buffer is preferably set so as to provide adequate freecloud storage to service a user, client, and/or VM's immediate needs,but which is not so large as to incur unnecessary expense to the userand/or to amount to an inefficient allocation of the cloud storageprovider's storage resources. Thus for example, the free storage buffermay range from about 90% to about 5% of a first amount of storageallocated to a user, client, and/or virtual machine, such as about 80%to about 10%, about 70% to about 10%, about 60% to about 10%, about 50%to about 10%, or even about 20% to about 10% of the first amount ofstorage.

An SLA may for example cause a cloud storage provider to allocate 100 GBto a client, and may set a free storage buffer of 10 GB for that client.Parameters of an SMP may specify that if the amount of free storage thatis allocated to the client exceeds the free storage buffer (for the sakeof this example, 10 GB), the free storage exceeding the free storagebuffer may be designated obsolete and available for management. Thus, if50 GB of the 100 GB allocated to the client is used, application of theSMP parameters may cause 40 GB of the unused (free) storage to bedesignated obsolete and thus available for management.

Factors in an SMP may also permit management of all or a portion of afirst amount of storage in the event that such storage has “expired”under the terms of an SLA. For example, an SLA between a user and acloud storage provider may specify that cloud storage provider is toprovide a first amount of storage to the user (and its clients/virtualmachines) for a specified time period. e.g., a period of minutes, hours,days, months, years, etc.). Data storage that has exceeded the specifiedtime period may be considered “expired storage.”

In some instances the SLA (and/or policies of the cloud storageprovider) may require the cloud storage provider to maintain data storedin the allocated storage beyond the time period specified in the SLA.While such terms may be advantageous in the sense that the user's datamay be retained, it could result in additional charges and/or othercomplications for the user, particularly in instances where all or aportion of the user's data is not needed or wanted. These disadvantagesmay be mitigated or even avoided by using an SMP that includes factorsthat designate all or a portion of expired storage as obsolete and thusavailable for management in accordance with the present disclosure.

Data stored in cloud storage may include one or more indicator flags,e.g., in the form of one or more bits, metadata, combinations thereof,and the like. Such flags may serve as an indicator of the relativeimportance of the data and hence, the underlying storage. For example,indicator flags may be set to specify that certain data is of highimportance, whereas other data is of moderate and/or low importance. Insuch instances, factors in an SMP may permit reallocation and/orreclamation of storage that is occupied by data that bears no indicator,or which bears an indicator that is designated in the SMP as beingsuitable for management. For example, one or more parameters of an SMPmay specify that storage containing data bearing an indicator signifyingthat the data is of low importance may be reallocated and/or reclaimed,whereas storage containing data bearing an indicator of moderate or highimportance should not be reallocated and/or reclaimed. Similarindicators may be used to designate data (and hence, underlying storage)as obsolete and thus available for management.

Alternatively or additionally, data stored in cloud storage may alsoinclude metadata or other information that is pertinent to the relativeuse of such data and hence, whether the underlying storage is obsolete(and thus suitable for reclamation and/or reallocation). For examplemetadata or other information may specify when data (e.g., files,objects) in cloud storage has last been used (e.g., accessed, modified,combinations thereof, and the like), the frequency with which such datahas been used, and combinations thereof. In such instances, factors inan SMP may indicate that cloud storage containing data having certainusage characteristics is obsolete and thus available for management inaccordance with the present disclosure.

For example, an SMP may include parameters which if met may indicatethat storage is obsolete if it contains data that has not been usedafter a specified time period (e.g., days, weeks, months, years, etc.).In other words, factors of an SMP may specify a minimum dormant usagethreshold. Storage containing data that exceeds the minimum dormantusage threshold (i.e., which has been dormant/not accessed) within athreshold time period may be designated by the SMP as obsolete and thussuitable for reallocation and/or reclamation. As previously noted, theminimum dormant usage threshold may range from days, weeks, months, oreven years. Whether or not data meets or exceeds the minimum dormantusage threshold may be determined for example by inspection of metadataor other information reflecting the usage of the data in question.

An SMP may further include parameters which if met may indicate thatstorage is obsolete if it contains data that is only infrequentlyaccessed. In other words, an SMP may set a threshold access limit.Storage containing data that does not meet the threshold access limit(e.g., which has not been accessed/used a specified number of times) maybe designated by the SMP as obsolete and thus suitable for reallocationand/or reclamation. The threshold access limit may be set by the userand/or cloud storage provider, and may be any suitable number ofaccesses. For example, the threshold access limit may be greater than 0,greater than or equal to about 5, greater than or equal to about 10,greater than or equal to about 25, greater than or equal to about 100,or even greater than or equal to about 1000. The threshold access limitmay also be time dependent. That is, the threshold access limit mayspecify a minimum number of accesses/uses in a certain time period,e.g., minutes, hours, days, months, years, etc. For example, thethreshold access limit may require the aforementioned access amounts tooccur within about 1 hour, about 1 day, about 1 week, about 1 month,about 1 year, or within some other specified time range.

An SMP may be further configured such that cloud storage allocated to auser is designated as obsolete based upon the evaluation of acombination of parameters, such as those specified above. For example,an SMP may designate storage as obsolete and thus suitable formanagement if the storage contains data that fails to meet a combinationof a minimum access threshold and minimum dormant usage threshold.Alternatively or additionally, an SMP may designate storage as obsoleteand suitable for management if it contains data bearing an indicator oflow importance, and which has not met a specified threshold access limitand/or or minimum dormant usage threshold.

An SMP may further specify a control hierarchy in which the importanceof certain parameters may be prioritized over other parameters in theSMP. For example, an SMP may prioritize parameters requiring compliancewith factors of an SLA, data importance, etc. over other parameters suchas minimum dormant usage threshold and/or threshold access limit. Thusfor example, an SMP may be configured such that storage may not bedesignated as obsolete and suitable for management if data contained inthat storage is designated as important and/or reclamation/reallocationwould result in non-compliance with the terms of an SLA. Likewise, ifdata is designated as important (e.g., with an indicator flag),management of storage containing that data may not be permitted, even ifthe data fails to meet a minimum dormant access limit and/or thresholdaccess limit. This may be balanced against other factors such as thescarcity of resources available to particular users, clients, VM's andcombinations thereof, as well as the needs of any one or combination ofsuch users, clients, and VMs. For example, an SMP may permit managementof storage (even storage containing important data) in instances wherestorage allocated to another, higher priority user is scarce. Forexample, an SMP may permit the management of storage containingimportant data allocated to a relatively low priority VM in instanceswhere free storage allocated to a relatively high priority VM has becomescarce (e.g., less than or equal to about 10%, 5%, or even about 1% ofthe storage allocated to the high priority VM is free). Likewise,management of storage containing important data may also be permitted byan SMP in instances where a cost threshold is exceeded.

An SMP may also be aware of the terms of an SLA relevant to the storageunder consideration, and may include factors which may designate storageas suitable for management based upon an evaluation of the terms of theSLA. For example, an SMP may be configured such that it is aware of datausage charges imposed under an SLA on a relevant user for the data underconsideration. In such instances, an SMP may be capable of determiningcost savings and/or other benefits which may accrue to a user in theevent that the storage under consideration is designated as obsolete andreallocated and/or reclaimed. In some instances, the SMP may include acost savings threshold, wherein storage under consideration may bedesignated as obsolete and suitable for management if the cost savingsthreshold is met. The cost savings threshold may be set in any suitablemanner, and may correlate to a specified monetary value, a specifiedpercentage of savings (i.e., a monetary savings relative to the totalcost of the cloud storage allocated to a pertinent user, client, and/orvirtual machine), combinations thereof, and the like. In some instances,an SMP may not designate data (and underlying storage) underconsideration as obsolete if the cost savings threshold is not met. Inother words, the cost savings threshold may be employed in a controlhierarchy within the SMP and may control whether data is designated asobsolete and, thus, whether the underlying storage is available formanagement. In such instances, the SMP may be further configured tocommunicate the potential cost savings that would result from managingobsolete storage in a proposed manner to a user, in which casemanagement of the storage may be contingent on the receipt of anaffirmation from the user that management is to proceed.

In any case, all or a portion of cloud storage designated as obsolete byapplication of the parameters of the SMP may be managed in accordancewith the present disclosure. For example, all or a portion of obsoletestorage may be reallocated from a first user, client and/or virtualmachine to at least one other user, client, and/or virtual machine.Alternatively or additionally, all or a portion of the obsolete freestorage may be reclaimed by a cloud storage provider from a first user,client and/or virtual machine, in which case it may be reallocated tothe general storage pool (free space) available for allocation by thecloud storage provider.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a cloud storagemanagement system. Reference is therefore made to FIG. 1, which depictsexemplary system architecture of a cloud storage management systemconsistent with the present disclosure. As shown, cloud storagemanagement system 100 (hereafter, system 100) includes client 101, cloudserver(s) 102, and optional cloud storage manager (CSM) 104, which maycommunicate with one another over network 103. Among other things, cloudserver(s) 102 include cloud storage 105.

Client 101 may be any type of client device as defined above, and may beindependent or part of public, community, or private cloud. For example,client 101 may be a computing terminal or other client device that ispart of a private cloud, such as a corporate (enterprise) cloud.Alternatively or additionally, client 101 may be a standalone device.Without limitation, client 101 is preferably a computing terminal, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet personal computer, a smartphone, or a mobile device that is part of a private (e.g., corporate)cloud.

Client 101 may be configured to communicate with cloud server(s) 102 andoptional CSM 104 via network 103. For example, client 101 may, vianetwork 103, transfer or otherwise communicate data (e.g., files, dataobjects, etc.) and other resources to cloud server(s) 102 for storage incloud storage 105. Client 101 may thereof include communicationscircuitry (not shown), which may be any type of circuitry that is thatis capable of sending and receiving information from and with client101. For example, client 101 may include an antenna, a transmitter, areceiver, a transceiver, a transponder, a network interface device(e.g., a network interface card), combinations thereof, and the like.Accordingly, client 101 may be capable of sending and/or receiving datasignals using one or more wired or wireless communications protocolsusing close/long range communication, as may be used with a close/longrange communications network.

The phrase “close range communication” is used herein to refer to one ormore technologies for sending/receiving data signals between devicesthat are relatively close to one another. Close range communication mayoccur over a close range communication network, such as but not limitedto a BLUETOOTH™ network, a personal area network (PAN), near fieldcommunication (NFC), a ZigBee network, a wired Ethernet connection,combinations thereof, and the like. In contrast, the phrase “long rangecommunication network” is used herein to refer to technologies forsending/receiving data signals between devices that are a significantdistance away from one another. Long range communication occurs over along range communication network, such as but not limited to a WiFinetwork, a wide area network (WAN) (including but not limited to a cellphone network (3G, 4G, etc. and the like), the internet, telephonynetworks, combinations thereof, and the like.

Network 103 may be any network that carries data. For example, network103 may be a close range network, a long range network, or a combinationthereof. Examples of such networks include the internet, privatenetworks, virtual private networks (VPN), public switch telephonenetworks (PSTN), integrated services digital networks (ISDN), digitalsubscriber link networks (DSL), wireless data networks (e.g., cellularphone networks, wireless local area networks, and the like), BLUETOOTHnetworks, near field communication networks, ZigBee networks, a localarea network (LAN), a cellular phone network (3G, 4G, etc.),combinations thereof, and the like. Without limitation, network 102 ispreferably the internet.

Client 101 may further include processing resources and memory resources(both not shown). Processing resources of client 101 may include one ormore general purpose processors and/or application specific integratedcircuits, which may be capable of executing one or more processingthreads. In generally, such processing resources are configured toexecute software, firmware and the like stored on memory resources ofclient 101. For example, processing resources of client 101 may executesoftware such as an operating system stored in memory resources ofclient 101. Alternatively or additionally, processing resources ofclient 101 may execute one or more modules that may function to providean interface on client 101 to facilitate interaction with cloudserver(s) 102 and/or cloud storage 105. Optional client user interface(UI) module 207 (shown in FIG. 2) is one example of such a module, andwhen executed may provide an interface through which client 101 mayinteract with and/or manage cloud storage 105, an optional registrationmodule 208, a policy enforcement module 205 and/or a storage managementmodule 201, as described later.

Memory resources of client 101 may include one or more mass storagedevices or other memory devices within or directly coupled to client101. Examples of such memory resources include but are not limited tothe following memory types: read only memory, electrically programmablememory, random access memory, flash memory (which may include, forexample, NAND or NOR type memory structures), magnetic disk memory,and/or optical disk memory. Additionally or alternatively, memoryresources on client 101 may include other and/or later-developed typesof computer-readable memory.

Cloud server(s) 102 may be in the form of one or more cloud (e.g.,internet, enterprise, community, etc.) servers that include mass storageor other memory devices that may be leveraged as cloud storage 105. Inoperation, cloud servers 102 may function to allocate cloud storage 105as one or more virtualized data storage pools to one or more users suchas client 101. e.g., in accordance with an SLA between a user and acloud storage provider as discussed previously. Cloud servers 102 and/orcloud storage 105 may be also configured to send and/or receive datato/from client 101. For example, cloud server(s) 102 may be configuredto receive information (e.g., files and/or data objects) from client 101and to store such information in cloud storage 105. Storage of suchinformation may be in accordance with a service level agreement, astorage management policy, or a combination thereof.

Cloud server(s) 102 may also include processing resources and memoryresources, which may be the same or different form the processing andmemory resources described above in connection with client 101. In someembodiments the processing resources of cloud server(s) 102 may beconfigured to host and/or execute a storage management module (SMM)(and/or computer readable instructions thereof), which may function toanalyze cloud storage 105 to determine usage data, report usage data toa policy enforcement module, to execute storage reclamation and/orreallocation operations consistent with the present disclosure, and/or acombination thereof. Cloud server(s) 102 may further include at leastone interface such as a web-based user interface, a web serviceapplication programming interface (API), a cloud storage gateway or acombination thereof. Such interface(s) may be configured to enableclient 101 access, configure, and/or manage cloud storage 105.

Cloud storage 105 may be in the form of one of more storage devices,which may be provided on a single cloud server or multiple servers, asdescribed above. In general, cloud storage 105 may include any type ofstorage (e.g., magnetic, optical, magneto-optical, static (e.g., flash),and/or read only memory, etc.) that is capable of storing digitalinformation received from client 101. Data may be stored on cloudstorage 105 in any suitable format, such as in a file system format, anobject-based format, or a combination thereof. Without limitation, cloudstorage 105 is preferably configured to store data in an object-baseformat. In such instances, cloud storage 105 may include one or moreobject-based storage devices (OSD's).

In some embodiments, system 100 may include an optional cloud storagemanager (CSM), such as CSM 104. Generally, optional CSM 104 may beunderstood as an optional device/system which may function to managecloud storage 105 in accordance with one or more storage managementpolicies. For example, optional CSM 104 may be configured to performpolicy enforcement operations and/or to instigate scheduling, storageanalysis (sweeping), and/or cloud storage reclamation/reallocationoperations consistent with the present disclosure. CSM 104 may be ownedand/or operated by client 101, a cloud storage provider, a third partycloud storage management service, or a combination thereof.

Client 101, cloud server(s) 102, and/or optional CSM 104 may host orotherwise store one or more modules thereon which may functionindividually or in combination to provide a mechanism for managing cloudstorage 105. In particular, modules on client 101, cloud server(s) 102,and/or optional CSM 104 may function individually or in combination toperform cloud storage management functions on data pools of cloudstorage consistent with the present disclosure. Examples of cloudstorage management functions include but are not limited to schedulingoperations, storage analysis (sweeping) operations, policy enforcementoperations, reclamation operations, and/or reallocation operations.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a block diagram of variousmodules that may be used in the technologies of the present disclosure.For the sake of illustration, embodiments are described herein whereincertain modules are present and executed on certain devices, such asclient 101, server(s) 102, and/or CSM 104. It should be understood thatsuch embodiments are exemplary, and that the modules described hereinmay be hosted and executed on any suitable device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the technologies of the present disclosure mayinclude storage management module (SMM) 201 and policy enforcementmodule (PEM) 205. In general, SMM 201 may function to manage the timingand execution of analysis “sweeps” of cloud storage 105, as well as themanagement (i.e., reclamation and/or reallocation) of storage providedby cloud storage 105, e.g., to client 101 of FIG. 1. While SMM 201 maybe configured as a single module for performing these functions as shownin FIG. 2, such configuration is not required. Indeed. SMM 201 may beconfigured as or may include multiple different modules. This concept isillustrated in FIG. 2 by the hashing of the boxes surrounding schedulermodule 202, sweep engine module 203, and reclamation engine module 204.It should also be understood that those modules need not be componentsof another module, and may be separate from SMM 201. Without limitation.SMM 201 preferably includes scheduler module 202, sweep engine module203, and reclamation engine module 204, and is preferably hosted and/orexecuted within the context of one or more cloud server(s) 102 and/orone or more virtual machines provided by such server(s). Alternativelyor additionally, SMM 201 and any or all of its components may be hostedon and executed by optional CSM 104.

In some embodiments, cloud server(s) 102 may be configured to providecloud storage 105 to client 101 in association with one or more virtualmachines, wherein each virtual machine may be allocated a portion of thetotal storage pool allocated to a user or a client of a user. Suchconfiguration may be specified for example by an SLA between a user anda cloud storage provider. In any case, SMM 201 may be configured as asoftware module which may be executed within the context of each virtualmachine provided by cloud sever(s) 102. Alternatively or additionally,SMM 201 may be incorporated into or be in the form of a hypervisor(virtual machine monitor), in which case it may operate to perform cloudstorage management operations on data storage pools allocated to one ormore virtual machines under its purview.

Scheduler module 202 may be integral to or separate from SMM 201, andmay be configured to coordinate the timing and execution of analysissweeps of cloud storage 105 by sweep engine module 203. For example,scheduler module 202 may be configured to schedule the performance ofanalysis sweeps on cloud storage 105, such that sweeps occur at aspecified time, according to a schedule, at periodic intervals, and/oron demand from a user/administrator (e.g., in response to sweepinstigation commands received from client UI module 207). The timing andexecution of analysis sweeps may be specified in one or more storagemanagement policies, which may be resident within scheduler module 202,policy enforcement module 205 (e.g., within storage management policies206), or at another suitable location.

In some embodiments, scheduler module 202 may be configurable, e.g., bypolicy enforcement module (PEM) 205 and/or with user inputs received,e.g., from optional client UI 207. For example, PEM 205 may includestorage management policy(ies) 206, any or all of which may includeparameters specifying the execution of storage sweeps at particulartimes, according to a schedule, etc. In such instances, policyenforcement module 205 when executed by a processor of a computingdevice (e.g., cloud server(s) 102) may cause the computing device toconfigure scheduler module 202 accordingly.

For example, where scheduler module 202 and PEM 205 are hosted andexecuted on the same computing device, PEM 205 may cause the computingdevice to configure scheduler module 202 to instigate the performance ofanalysis sweep in accordance with parameters in storage managementpolicy(ies) 206. Alternatively or additionally, where scheduler module202 is resident on a first computing device (e.g., optional CSM 104) andPEM 205 is resident on a second computing device (e.g., cloud server(s)102), PEM 205 when executed may cause the second computing device tosend scheduling signals to the first computing device, in response towhich the first computing device may configure scheduler module 202appropriately.

As used herein, the term “analysis sweep” and “sweep” areinterchangeably used to refer to one or more operations in which sweepengine module may scan and collect usage data from cloud storage 105.Usage data may include data relevant to an applicable storage managementpolicy. For example, usage data may include one of more of informationregarding: the total amount of storage available in a storage poolallocated to a user, client and/or virtual machine; the total amount offree storage available in such storage pool; the amount of occupiedstorage in such storage pool; metadata relevant to the use and/orimportance of files and/or data objects stored in such storage pool suchas the last access date, last modification date, number of accesses/uses(optionally over a specified time period), etc. of such files andobjects), the author/originator of such files/objects, an indicator of afile/object's relative degree of importance (high, low, etc.), the costof the storage under consideration, combinations thereof, and the like.

In any case, when an analysis sweep is to be performed scheduler module202 may communicate or may cause PEM 205 to communicate sweepinstigation messages to sweep engine module 202. In the former case,scheduler module 202 may be aware of parameters included in storagemanagement policies 206 within PEM 205, and may include the identity ofsuch parameters in sweep instigation messages to sweep engine module203. In the latter case, the sweep instigation messages may identify thestorage pool under consideration by host, client, and/or virtual machineto PEM 205. In response to such messages, PEM 205 may analyze storagemanagement policy(ies) 206 to determine which policies apply to therelevant storage pool, and what parameters are specified in suchpolicy(ies). PEM 205 may then communicate a sweep instigation messageincluding the identity of those parameters to sweep engine 203. In sum,scheduler 202 and/or policy enforcement module 205 may inform sweepengine 203 of the parameters included in the relevant storage managementpolicy, which sweep engine module 203 may use to tailor its analysissweep accordingly.

In response to a sweep instigation message, sweep engine module 203 mayperform an analysis sweep on cloud storage 105. As noted above, thesweep instigation messages may in some instances instruct sweep engine203 to sweep cloud storage 105 for usage information relevant to one ormore storage management policies, such as storage management policies206. For example, where storage management policies 206 includeparameters that permit/deny reclamation and/or reallocation of storagebased a minimum dormant access limit, threshold access limit, and dataimportance indicator (flag), sweep instigation messages from scheduler202 and/or policy enforcement module 205 may cause sweep engine module203 to perform an analysis sweep on cloud storage 205 for usage datarelevant to such parameters.

Analysis sweeps of cloud storage 105 may be performed in any suitablemanner. For example, sweep engine 205 may obtain file systemallocations, file properties, and other file system metadata. As anotherexample, sweep engine 205 may also obtain metadata associated withobject storage allocation. Sweep engine 205 may obtain this informationfrom APIs provided by Cloud Storage providers or directly from VMs,either through APIs or by logging into them.

Sweep engine module 203 may be configured to perform and/or instigatethe performance of analysis sweep operations and reporting operationsconsistent with the present disclosure. In this regard, sweep enginemodule 203 may be configured to perform or instigate the performance ofanalysis sweeps on cloud storage 105 on a per host basis (e.g., on alldata storage pools provided by a particular cloud storagehost/provider), on a per server basis (e.g., on all data storage poolsprovided by a particular cloud server 102), and/or on a per storage poolbasis (e.g., on one or more storage pools allocated to a particularuser, client, and/or virtual machine by a cloud server 102).

When cloud server(s) 102 is/are configured to provide cloud storage 105to a cloud storage user such as client 101 in association with one ormore virtual machines, each virtual machine may be allocated a portionof a total storage pool allocated to a cloud storage user. In suchinstances, sweep engine module 203 may be configured to perform analysissweeps on a per virtual machine basis, i.e., on the portion of the totalstorage pool that is allocated to a particular virtual machine or set ofvirtual machines. Moreover, sweep engine module 203 may be configured asa software module for execution within the context of a virtual machineand/or as part of a hypervisor (virtual machine monitor) overseeing oneof more virtual machine(s) provided by cloud server(s) 102.

In any case, sweep engine module 203 may be further configured tocommunicate usage data regarding cloud storage 105, e.g., to policyenforcement module 205, the functions of which will be described later.For example, sweep engine module 203 when executed by a processor of acomputing device may cause the computing device to transmit usageinformation signals to policy enforcement module 205. The usageinformation signals may include for example: the total amount of cloudstorage 105 allocated by cloud storage 105; the total amount of freespace in cloud storage 105, the total amount of used storage in cloudstorage 105, usage data for files and/or data objects stored in cloudstorage 105, the cost of free/used storage in cloud storage 105, therelative scarcity of free storage of cloud storage 105 allocated to aparticular user/client/VM, combinations thereof, and the like, any orall of which may be optionally broken out by user, client and/or virtualmachine.

Reclamation engine module 204 may be configured to manage cloud storage105. i.e., to perform storage reclamation and/or reallocation operationsconsistent with the present disclosure. For example reclamation engine204 may, in response to a storage management command from policyenforcement module 205, cause cloud server(s) 102 to manage (e.g.,reclaim and/or reallocate) storage in accordance with one or morestorage management policy(ies) 206 of PEM 205. Performance of suchoperations may be accomplished in any suitable manner.

For example, reclamation engine 204 may perform storage reclamationand/or reallocation operations on a per user basis, e.g., on the totalstorage pool allocated to a particular cloud storage user. Alternativelyor additionally, reclamation engine 204 may perform storage reclamationand/or reallocation operations on a per client basis, e.g., on a subsetof the total data storage pool which is allocated to a particular clientof a cloud storage user. In still other embodiments, cloud server(s) 102may be configured to provide cloud storage 105 to client 101 inassociation with one or more virtual machines, in which each virtualmachine may be allocated a portion of the total storage pool allocatedto a cloud storage user. In such instances, reclamation engine 204 mayperform storage reclamation and/or reallocation operations on a pervirtual machine basis (e.g., on the portion of the total storage poolthat is allocated to a particular virtual machine or set of virtualmachines).

Reallocation operations consistent with the present disclosure mayinvolve the designation of all or a portion of a first amount of cloudstorage allocated to a first user, client and/or virtual machine asobsolete. All or part of storage so designated may be de-allocated fromthe first user, client and/or virtual machine and reallocated to asecond user, client and/or virtual machine. The manner in whichreallocation operations are performed may be specified by user input(e.g., through optional client UI 207), an SLA and/or an SMP. Forexample, an SMP may include parameters dictating when storage allocatedto a first user/client/VM is obsolete and thus suitable for management(e.g., reallocation and/or reclamation as discussed above), and mayfurther include parameters specifying one or more secondusers/clients/VMs to whom all or a part of the obsolete portion shouldbe reallocated. Alternatively or additionally, reallocation operationsperformed by reclamation engine 204 may be guided by policy enforcementmodule 205, which may be aware of the storage status of other (second)users, clients and/or virtual machines, and which may prioritizereallocation of cloud storage amongst such entities. Still further,reallocation operations may be guided by inputs may through client UI207.

In some embodiments, reclamation engine 204 may in response to storagemanagement commands from policy enforcement module 205 cause cloudserver(s) 102 to de-allocate all or a portion of cloud storage 105 thatis allocated to a first user, client and/or virtual machine. Based userinputs (e.g. through client UI 207) and/or on factors known toreclamation engine 204 and/or policy enforcement module 205, reclamationengine 204 may reallocate the de-allocated portion of the cloud storageto a second user, client and/or virtual machine. As a result, cloudstorage allocated to the second user, client and/or virtual machine mayincrease by the amount of storage de-allocated from the first user,client and/or virtual machine. Similar operations could be performedbased on user inputs made through optional client UI 207.

Reclamation operations consistent with the present disclosure mayinvolve the designation of all or a portion of a first amount of cloudstorage allocated to a first user, client and/or virtual machine asobsolete. In such instances, the all or a party of the obsolete storagemay be de-allocated from the first user, client and/or virtual machine,and reallocated to (reclaimed by) the general storage pool of server(s)102 as free space. The manner in which reclamation operations areperformed may be specified by an SLA and/or an SMP. For example, an SMPmay include parameters dictating when storage allocated to a firstuser/client/VM is obsolete and thus suitable for management as discussedabove. The SMP may also include parameters specifying whether all or aportion of obsolete storage may be reclaimed as free space by cloudstorage provider, which may be specified by the cloud storage userdepending on the his/her goals. Provided those parameters are met,reclamation engine 204 may in response to storage management commandsfrom policy enforcement module 205 cause cloud server(s) 102 to reclaimall or a portion of cloud storage 105 as free space, in accordance witha service level agreement and/or SMP.

As noted previously, cloud server(s) 102 may be configured to providecloud storage 105 to a cloud storage user such as client 101 inassociation with one or more virtual machines, wherein each virtualmachine may be allocated an initial (first) amount of the total storagepool allocated to a cloud storage user. In such instances, reclamationand/or reallocation operations may be performed by reclamation engine204 by deleting one or more virtual machines at the host level,designating all or a portion of the first amount of storage from thedeleted VM(s) as obsolete, and instantiating a new copy of the deletedVM's with an adjusted amount of storage corresponding to the firstamount minus all or a part of the obsolete storage. The portion of theobsolete storage not included in the new copy of the VM may then bereclaimed as free space within cloud storage 105 and/or reallocated toat least one other client and/or virtual machine.

Alternatively or additionally, reclamation engine 204 may performreclamation and/or reallocation operations on cloud storage 105 bydeleting files and/or data objects from a first virtual machine, thusfreeing storage within the first virtual machine. During or after suchdeletion, reclamation engine 204 may cause the first virtual machine tobe migrated (e.g., non-destructively and/or non-disruptively) to anotherthinly provisioned storage space as a second virtual machine, withoutall or a portion of the free space in the first virtual machine. Oncethe migration is complete, the first virtual machine may be deleted andthe resulting free space may be reclaimed and/or reallocated asdiscussed above.

Policy enforcement module (PEM) 205 may generally function to enforceone or more policies that govern or otherwise control the allocation ofcloud storage 105 amongst one or more users, clients and/or virtualmachines. For example, policy enforcement module 205 may store orotherwise be aware of the parameters of a service level agreement (SLA)between a cloud storage provider and cloud storage user (e.g., client101), in which case it may function to ensure that the requirements ofthe SLA are met and/or maintained. Alternatively or additionally, PEM205 may enforce storage management policy(ies) 206, which may govern theallocation of cloud storage 105 at the host, client and/or virtualmachine level as discussed above.

As noted previously, PEM 205 may be configured to transmit sweepinstigation signals to sweep engine 203. More specifically, PEM 205 whenexecuted by a processor of a computing device (e.g., by client 101,cloud server(s) 102, and/or optional cloud storage manager 104) maycause the computing device to monitor for sweep instigation signals fromSMM 201 or, more particularly, from scheduler module 202. In response toa sweep instigation signal, PEM 205 may determine which storagemanagement policy(ies) 206 apply, and may transmit a sweep instigationsignal (e.g., a modified version of a received sweep instigation signal)that identifies parameters relevant to such policy(ies) to sweep enginemodule 203. Such signals may be configured to cause sweep engine module203 to perform an analysis sweep of cloud storage 105 for usage data andother information relevant to the pertinent storage management policies.Alternatively or additionally, in response to a sweep initiation signalPEM 205 may determine which storage management policy(ies) 206 apply,and may transmit a signal identifying parameters relevant to suchpolicy(ies) to scheduler module 202. In response to such signals,scheduler module 202 may transmit a sweep instigation signal includingthe parameter provided by PEM 205 to reclamation engine 204.

PEM 205 may be further configured to monitor for the receipt of usageinformation signals from sweep engine module 203. As noted previously,usage information signals may contain usage information relevant to thestorage management policy(ies) 206 and/or service level agreement(s)governing the cloud storage in question. In response to receiving ausage information signal, PEM 205 may analyze the received signal forrelevant usage information, and may compare the received usageinformation against parameters specified in the relevant storagemanagement control policy(ies) 206 and/or service level agreement(s).Based on this comparison, PEM 205 when executed by a processor of acomputing device may cause the computing device to determine whether allor a portion of cloud storage 105 under consideration is obsolete andthus suitable for management (e.g., reallocation and/or reclamation), asdiscussed above.

If any or all of the cloud storage is obsolete, and provided theparameters of a relevant SLA and/or storage management policy(ies) 206are met, PEM 205 (or a host computer system executing PEM 205) maytransmit one or more storage management signals to storage managementmodule or, more specifically, to reclamation engine 204. The storagemanagement signals may be configured to cause reclamation engine 204 toperform storage management operations on relevant cloud storage 105 inaccordance with pertinent storage management policy(ies) 206 and/or anoverarching SLA. For example, the storage management signals may beconfigured to cause reclamation engine 204 to reclaim and/or reallocateall or a portion of storage containing data designated as obsolete, asgenerally discussed above.

In some embodiments, cloud storage 105 may be allocated amongst variousclients and/or virtual machines. In such instances, PEM 205 may beconfigured as a hypervisor or supervisory module that manages cloudstorage provisioned to multiple different clients and/or virtualmachines. In some embodiments PEM 205 may be in communication with oneor storage management modules 201 having purview over all or a portionof those clients and/or virtual machines. As a result, PEM 205 may beaware of the storage status of each client and/or virtual machine underits purview, and may allocate priority to certain (e.g., first)clients/virtual machines over other (e.g., second) virtual machines. Forexample, cloud storage 105 may be allocated between a relatively highpriority first client and a relatively low priority second client.

Based upon usage information included in usage information signalsreceived from one or more relevant sweep engine modules, PEM 205 may beaware of the storage condition of the first and second clients and/orvirtual machines. When cloud storage for the first client/virtualmachine becomes scarce (e.g., the free storage available to the firstclient/virtual machine falls below a predetermined free storage buffer),PEM 205 may cause a sweep engine module having purview over the secondclient/virtual machine to perform an analysis sweep on the second clientand report usage information to PEM 205. PEM 205 may analyze thereported usage information and determine whether a portion of thestorage allocated to the second client/virtual machine is obsolete. Ifso, PEM 205 when executed by a processor of a computing device may causethe computing device to send reallocation instructions to reclamationengine 204, wherein the instructions are configured to cause reclamationengine 204 to de-allocate the obsolete storage from the secondclient/virtual machine and reallocate the obsolete storage to the firstclient/virtual machine.

As further shown in FIG. 2, the technologies of the present disclosuremay also include optional client user interface (UI) module 207 andoptional registration module 208. As briefly discussed above, optionalclient UI module 207 may generally function to provide an interfacethrough which a user may interact with one or more of the other modulesdiscussed above. In this regard, optional client UI module 207 may behosted or otherwise present on a client device, and may include computerreadable instructions that when executed by a processor of the clientdevice cause the client device to provide a user interface forinteracting with one or more of storage management module 201, schedulermodule 202, sweep engine module 203, reclamation engine 204, cloudstorage 105, policy enforcement module 205, storage managementpolicy(ies) 206, and/or optional registration module 208.

Optional client UI 207 may be configured in any suitable manner for thispurpose. For example, client UI 207 may include instructions that whenexecuted by a client device cause the client device to produce a userinterface as part of a standalone application executed within thecontext of an operating system of the client device, as a web-basedinterface, combinations thereof and the like. Without limitation,optional client UI 207 is preferably configured to produce a web-baseduser interface.

In some embodiments, optional client UI 207 may be configured to permita user to “opt in” to the cloud storage management technology describedherein. For example, optional client UI 207 may allow a user to makeinputs to optional registration module 208, which may generally trackuser opt-in (e.g., agreement with a cloud storage provider) to havecloud storage 105 managed in accordance with a relevant SLA and/orstorage management policy(ies) 206.

Optional client UI 207 may also permit a user to configure schedulermodule 202, as generally mentioned above. For example, client UI 207 maybe configured to relay user inputs to scheduler module 202, so as toadjust the timing of sweep instigation signals and hence, the executionof sweeping operations and storage management operations describedherein. In some embodiments, optional UI 207 may be configured to sendon-demand signals to scheduler module 202. In response to such signals,scheduler module 202 may instigate an analysis sweep outside of apre-determined schedule and/or time. i.e., at the demand of a user.

For the sake of illustration, two exemplary systems for managing cloudstorage will now be described, wherein the modules of FIG. 2 are hostedand executed on various devices to accomplish a method of managing cloudstorage in accordance with the present disclosure and shown in FIG. 3.One example of the effects of such example systems and method to managecloud storage is shown in FIG. 4. It should be understood that suchexamples are described for the sake of clarity and ease of understandingof the present disclosure only, and that other configurations andresults are possible and contemplated.

In a first example, client 101 may host optional client UI 207, and oneor more cloud server(s) 102 may host storage management module 201. PEM205 and cloud storage 105. In this example, storage management module201 includes scheduler module 202, sweep engine module 203, andreclamation engine 204, and PEM 205 includes storage managementpolicy(ies) 206. In a second example, an optional cloud storage manager(e.g., CSM 104) is used and hosts PEM 205 and scheduler module 202,while sweep engine module 203 and reclamation engine module 204 remainon one or more cloud server(s) 102.

For clarity and ease of understanding, it is assumed for both examplesthat an SLA has caused a cloud service provider to allocate cloudstorage 105 amongst three instances (e.g., virtual machines). Thisconcept is illustrated in FIG. 4, which depict instances 401, 402, and403 in their initial state as including the same amount of allocatedstorage, as well as a software layer (cross-hatched), used storage(hashed), and free storage (blank). The relative amount of free space oncloud storage 105 after the initial allocation to instances 401-403 isillustrated in FIG. 4 as free space 404.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary method of the present disclosure maybegin at block 301. At block 302, a determination may be made as towhether an analysis sweep is to be performed. Consistent with theforegoing discussion, the decision of whether an analysis sweep is to beperformed may be controlled by scheduler module 202 of SMM 201, by PEM205, and/or by a user input through optional client UI 207. For example,scheduler module 202 may be configured to instigate an analysis sweep ata predetermined time, according to a schedule, etc. In such instances,scheduler module 202 may instigate an analysis sweep as previouslydescribed. Alternatively or additionally, PEM 205 may be aware that theamount of free space allocated to one or more of instances 401-403 hasbecome scarce (e.g. from reports received from a hypervisor of instances401-403). In such instance, PEM 205 may instigate an analysis sweep,particularly in instances where the instance with scarce resources is ofhigher priority than other instances. Still further, an analysis sweepmay be instigated by an input made to scheduler 202 and/or PEM 205,e.g., via optional client UI 207.

If a sweep is not to be performed, the method may proceed to block 310and end. If a sweep is to be performed, the method may proceed to block303, whereupon PEM 205 and/or scheduler module 202 may instigate astorage sweeping operation. As noted previously. PEM 205 and/orscheduler module 202 may initiate a storage sweep by transmitting asweep instigation message to sweep engine module 203. In examples whereCSM 104 hosts scheduler module 202 and/or PEM 205, one or both of suchmodules may cause CSM 104 to transmit a sweep instigation message tosweep engine module 203, e.g., via a network such as network 103.

The method may then proceed to block 303, wherein usage information foran instance may be collected. As explained previously, usage informationmay be collected by sweep engine 203, which may sweep instances 401-403as generally described above. Prior to execution of a sweep, PEM 205and/or scheduler module 201 may transmit one or more signals to sweepengine module 203 to inform it of parameters contained in an SLA and/ora storage management policy governing the relevant instance. Sweepengine module 203 may then sweep instances 401-403 to obtain usageinformation correlating to the parameters of the storage managementpolicy.

For example, PEM 205 may enforce a storage management policy applying toeach of instances 401-403. For the sake of discussion, the policy in theforegoing examples may include parameters specifying that free spaceallocated to instances 401-403 is obsolete and may be reclaimed if it isgreater than 50% of the storage allocated to a particular instance inthe initial state is not used. The storage management policy and/or arelevant SLA may also require each of instances 401-403 to maintain afree storage buffer equal to 10% of the storage initially allocated toeach instance. With these parameters in mind, sweep engine module 203may sweep instances 401-403 to determine the total amount of storageallocated to each instance, and the total amount of free storageavailable in each instance. Sweep engine module 203 may then report thisusage information to policy enforcement module 205.

The method may then proceed to block 304, wherein the usage informationreported by sweep engine module is evaluated against the parameters of arelevant SLA and/or storage management policy(ies). As discussed above,evaluation of the usage information in this manner may be performed byPEM 205, and may be done on an instance by instance basis. Pursuant toblock 305, a determination may be made as to whether any storageallocated to an instance under consideration is obsolete, as discussedabove. If not, the method may proceed to block 309, wherein adetermination may be made (e.g., by PEM 205) as to whether evaluation isto proceed to the next instance. If so, the method may proceed back toblock 302.

If all or a portion of storage allocated to instances 401-403 isdetermined to be obsolete, the method may proceed to block 306, whereina determination may be made as to whether it is necessary to inform arelevant client. In this regard, a storage management policy and/or anSLA governing one or more of instances 401-403 may require confirmationby a client that management of storage identified as obsolete isacceptable. If confirmation from a client is needed, a clientconfirmation message may be sent to a relevant client, such as a clienthaving access to the instance under consideration. The clientconfirmation message may be sent, for example, by PEM 205, storagemanagement module 201, and/or a computing system executing one or moreof such modules. Without limitation, client confirmation messages arepreferably transmitted by PEM 205 or a computing system executing PEM205.

Regardless, a client confirmation message may include information thatmay be of interest to a user in evaluating whether management of cloudstorage is desired. For example, a client confirmation message mayinclude information regarding the amount: in which obsolete storagewould be managed (e.g., reallocated and/or reclaimed); of storage thatwould remain allocated to an instance after management; of time forwhich an original amount of storage allocated to instance would beunavailable; of time required to manage the storage in the mannerindicated; amount of money that may be saved if the storage is managedin the indicated fashion; combinations thereof, and the like.

The method may then proceed to block 307, wherein a determination may bemade as to whether client affirmation has been received. In this regard,PEM 205 may be configured (or when executed by a computing device maycause the computing device) to monitor for the receipt of a clientaffirmation message. The client affirmation message may originate from aclient of a user (e.g., client 101), and may be sent in response toinputs made to the client, e.g., via optional client UI 207. If a clientaffirmation message is not received (or not received within a specifiedtime period), the method may proceed to block 309. If a clientaffirmation message is received however (or if it is not necessary toinform a client pursuant to block 306), the method may proceed to block308, wherein storage allocated to the instance under consideration maybe managed in the manner indicated.

Applying the policies described above (i.e., an SLA requiring a 10% freestorage buffer, and a storage management policy indicating that freestorage allocated to an instance is obsolete and may be reclaimed ifgreater than 50% of the storage allocated to an instance is free),pursuant to blocks 304 and 305, PEM 205 may determine that free storageamong the storage allocated to instance 401 is obsolete. That is, usageinformation reported to PEM 205 from sweeping engine module 203 mayindicate that greater than 50% of the storage allocated to instance 401is free. Applying the foregoing policies. PEM 205 may pursuant to block305 determine that the free storage allocated to such instance isobsolete. Assuming that no client affirmation is required (or clientaffirmation has been received), PEM 205 may pursuant to block 308instruction a reclamation engine (e.g., reclamation engine module 208)to manage the storage allocated to instance 401 in accordance with theSLA and storage management policy(ies). In this case, PEM 205 mayinstruct reclamation engine module 208 to reclaim 40% of the freestorage allocated to instance 401 and reallocate such storage to thefree storage space 401 provided by a cloud storage provider.

The method may then proceed to block 309 and repeat for each instance,or it may end at block 310. In the example of FIG. 4, each iteration ofthe method of FIG. 3 resulted in the identification of obsolete storagein at least one of instances 401, 402, and 403. Pursuant to block 308,PEM 205 instructed a reclamation engine module 204 to reclaim theobsolete storage and reallocate it to the free storage of a cloudstorage provider. Therefore upon completion of the method of FIG. 3 foreach instance, the subsequent state of each instance (shown in FIG. 4 asinstances 401′, 402′, 403′) will remain, but will have less storageallocated to it. For example, each of instances 401′, 402′ and 403′ mayinclude free storage in the amount of 10% (or more) of the initialstorage amount allocated to each instance, as specified by the relevantSLA governing each instance. Obsolete storage 405 trimmed from instances401-403 is reallocated in the subsequent state to free storage space404, as shown.

As discussed above, the technologies of the present disclosure mayprovide a mechanism for dynamically managing cloud storage using one ormore policies. In this way, effective control over cloud storage may beobtained by managing and/or configuring policies covering allocatedcloud storage, which may the be enforced automatically and/or on demandso as to obtain an efficient or otherwise desirable allocation ofstorage resources, while limiting or eliminating costly and/or timeconsuming manual management of storage. The technology described hereinmay also allow cloud storage providers to improve capacity management byincreasing utilization through reallocation and/or reclamationprocesses.

EXAMPLES

Examples of the present disclosure include subject material such as amethod, means for performing acts of the method, a device, at least onemachine-readable medium including instructions that when performed by amachine cause the machine to perform acts of the method, and of anapparatus or system for hardening the security of digital informationand assets that may be used to access digital information on a clientdevice, as discussed below.

Example 1

According to this example there is provided a cloud storage managementsystem including a policy enforcement module and a storage managementmodule configured to analyze storage allocated to at least one firststorage pool of a general cloud storage pool to determine usageinformation regarding the first storage pool and to report the usageinformation to the policy enforcement module; wherein: the policyenforcement module is configured to enforce a storage management policygoverning the management of storage allocated to the first storage pool,the storage management policy comprising at least one first parameterfor determining whether at least a portion of the first storage pool isobsolete; the policy enforcement module is further configured to issue astorage management command to the storage management module, the storagemanagement command instructing the storage management module to manageobsolete storage of the first storage pool by reclaiming at least aportion of the obsolete storage as free space of the general cloudstorage pool, reallocating at least a portion of the obsolete storage toat least one second storage pool allocated from the general cloudstorage pool, or a combination thereof; and the storage managementmodule is configured to manage the obsolete storage in accordance withthe storage management command.

Example 2

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the cloudstorage is virtualized in accordance with a service level agreement intoa plurality of storage pools including at least the first storage pooland the second storage pool.

Example 3

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to a first virtual machine and the secondstorage pool is allocated to a second virtual machine.

Example 4

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the at leastone first parameter includes at least one of a free storage allocationthreshold for the first storage pool, a free storage buffer for thefirst storage pool, an expiration date for storage of the first storagepool, one or more indicator flags pertaining to data stored in the firststorage pool; a minimum dormant usage threshold for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a threshold access limit for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a cost savings threshold based on monetary savingsachieved that may be achieved by management of the first storage pool;authorship information pertaining to data stored in the first storagepool; and combinations thereof.

Example 5

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the policyenforcement module is configured to designate at least a portion of thefirst storage pool as obsolete if usage information indicates that theat least one first parameter is met.

Example 6

This example includes the elements of any one of examples 1-5, whereinthe policy enforcement module further includes at least one secondparameter to override the designation of at least a portion of the firststorage pool as obsolete if the at least one second parameter is met.

Example 7

This example includes the elements of example 6, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a service level agreement overrideconfigured to cause the policy enforcement module to override thedesignation of at least a portion the first storage pool as obsolete ifmanagement of the first storage pool would result in non-compliance withone or more factors of a service level agreement governing the firststorage pool.

Example 8

This example includes the elements of example 7, wherein the one or morefactors of the service level agreement include a minimum storageallocation for the first storage pool, a minimum free storage thresholdfor the first storage pool, and combinations thereof.

Example 9

This example includes the elements of example 6, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a data importance override configured tocause the policy enforcement module to override the designation of atleast a portion the first storage pool as obsolete if management of thefirst storage pool would result in reclamation of storage containingdata bearing an indicator of high importance, reallocation of storagecontaining data bearing an indicator of high importance, or acombination thereof.

Example 10

This example includes the elements of example 6, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a cost savings override configured tocause the policy enforcement module to override the designation of atleast a portion of the first storage pool as obsolete if management ofthe first storage pool would fail to meet a predetermined cost savingsthreshold.

Example 11

This example includes the elements of example 5, and further includes atleast a third parameter to control the manner in which obsolete storageof the first storage pool is managed.

Example 12

This example includes the elements of example 11, wherein the thirdparameter is configured to cause the policy enforcement module toreallocate at least a portion of the obsolete storage to the secondstorage pool, reclaim at least a portion of the obsolete storage to thegeneral cloud storage pool, or a combination thereof.

Example 13

This example includes the elements of example 11, wherein the thirdparameter is configured to cause the policy enforcement module toreallocate at least a portion of the obsolete storage among a pluralityof storage pools including at least the second storage pool and storagepools other than the second storage pool, wherein the policy enforcementmodule is configured to prioritize the reallocation of the obsoletestorage to one or more of the second storage pool and the storage poolsother than the second storage pool.

Example 14

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the policyenforcement module is further configured to: determine an impact of aproposed management of obsolete storage; report the impact to a clientuser interface module; in response to receipt of a client affirmationmessage from the client interface module, instruct the storagemanagement module to manage the obsolete storage in accordance with theproposed management.

Example 15

This example includes the elements of example 1, and further includes ascheduler module, the scheduler module to schedule the performance ofanalysis sweeps on the first storage pool by the storage managementmodule to determine the usage information.

Example 16

This example includes the elements of example 15, wherein the schedulermodule is configured to instigate the performance of the analysis sweepsby sending a sweep instigation message, the sweep instigation messagecomprising information regarding the first parameter of the storagemanagement policy.

Example 17

This example includes the elements of example 16, wherein in response tothe sweep instigation message, the storage management module performs ananalysis sweep on the first storage pool to determine usage informationrelevant to the first parameter.

Example 18

This example includes the elements of example 16, wherein the sweepinstigation message is sent from the scheduler module to the policyenforcement module, wherein in response to receiving the sweepinstigation message the policy enforcement module produces a modifiedsweep instigation message include information regarding the firstparameter, and sends the modified sweep instigation message to thestorage management module.

Example 19

This example includes the elements of example 16, wherein the schedulermodule is configurable by the policy engine module, by inputs receivedfrom a client user interface, or a combination thereof.

Example 20

This example includes the elements of example 19, wherein the policyenforcement module includes at least one scheduling parameter and isoperable to configure the scheduler module to transmit the sweepinstigation message in accordance with the scheduling parameter.

Example 21

This example includes the elements of example 18, wherein in response tothe modified sweep instigation message, the storage management moduleperforms an analysis sweep on the first storage pool to determine usageinformation relevant to the first parameter.

Example 22

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to an initial instantiation of a first virtualmachine, and the storage management module is configured to manage theobsolete storage by deleting the initial instantiation of the firstvirtual machine, designating at least a portion of the obsolete storageas unallocated free space, producing a subsequent instantiation of thefirst virtual machine, the subsequent instantiation being allocated amodified first storage pool that does not include at least part of theunallocated free space.

Example 23

This example includes the elements of example 22, wherein the storagemanagement module is further configured to reallocate at least part ofthe unallocated free space to the second data storage pool, to reclaimat least part of the unallocated free space to the general cloud storagepool, or a combination thereof.

Example 24

This example includes the elements of any one of examples 1 to 5 and 11to 23, wherein the first storage pool is allocated to a first virtualmachine and the second storage pool is allocated to a second virtualmachine, wherein the storage management module manages the obsoletestorage by deleting data contained in the obsolete storage to produceunallocated free space and a modified first storage pool not includingthe unallocated free space, migrating the first virtual machine to athinly provisioned storage space in the general cloud storage pool toproduce a modified first virtual machine having the modified firststorage pool allocated thereto, and deleting the first virtual machine.

Example 25

This example includes the elements of example 24, wherein the storagemanagement module is further configured to reallocate at least a portionof the unallocated free space to the second storage pool, to reclaim atleast a portion of the unallocated free space to the general cloudstorage pool, or a combination thereof.

Example 26

This example includes the elements of example 1, and further includes atleast one server device comprising the policy enforcement module,storage management module, general cloud storage pool, first storagepool, the second storage pool.

Example 27

This example includes the elements of example 26, and further includesat least one client device comprising a client user interface moduleconfigured to interface with at least one of the policy enforcementmodule, storage management module, general cloud storage pool, firststorage pool, and second storage pool.

Example 28

This example includes the elements of example 1, and further includes acloud storage management device comprising the policy enforcement moduleand at least one server device comprising the storage management module,general cloud storage pool, first storage pool, the second storage pool.

Example 29

This example includes the elements of example 1, wherein the first andsecond storage pools are allocated to first and second virtual machines,respectively, the cloud storage management system further includes ahypervisor comprising at least one of the policy enforcement module andthe storage management module, the hypervisor controlling at least oneof the first and second storage pools.

Example 30

In this example there is provided a method of managing cloud storagecomprising at least a first storage pool and at least one general cloudstorage pool, the method including: collecting usage information fromthe first storage pool, the usage information indicative of the use ofstorage within the first storage pool; determining whether any portionof the first storage pool is obsolete storage by evaluating the usageinformation against parameters specified by at least one policygoverning the first storage pool; if any portion of the first storagepool is obsolete storage, managing the obsolete storage by reallocatingat least a portion of the obsolete storage to a second storage poolallocated from the general could storage pool, reclaiming at least aportion of the obsolete storage to the general cloud storage pool, or acombination thereof.

Example 31

This example includes the elements of example 30, wherein the at leastone policy includes a service level agreement, and the cloud storage isvirtualized in accordance with the service level agreement into aplurality of storage pools including at least the first storage pool andthe second storage pool.

Example 32

This example includes the elements of example 30, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to a first virtual machine and the secondstorage pool is allocated to a second virtual machine.

Example 33

This example includes the elements of example 30, wherein the at leastone policy governing the first storage pool includes a storagemanagement policy, the storage management policy comprising at least onefirst parameter for determining whether any portion of the first storagepool is obsolete storage, wherein if the usage information indicatesthat the at least one first parameter is met for an analyzed portion ofthe first storage pool, the method further includes designating theanalyzed portion as obsolete storage.

Example 34

This example includes the elements of example 33, wherein the at leastone first parameter includes at least one of a free storage allocationthreshold for the first storage pool, a free storage buffer for thefirst storage pool, an expiration date for storage of the first storagepool, one or more indicator flags pertaining to data stored in the firststorage pool; a minimum dormant usage threshold for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a threshold access limit for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a cost savings threshold based on monetary savingsachieved that may be achieved by management of the first storage pool;authorship information pertaining to data stored in the first storagepool; and combinations thereof.

Example 35

This example includes the elements of example 33, and further includesenforcing at least one second parameter of the at least one policy tooverride a designation of at least a portion of the first storage poolas obsolete storage if the at least one second parameter is met.

Example 36

This example includes the elements of example 35, wherein the at leastone policy further includes a service level agreement governing thefirst storage pool, and the at least one second parameter includes aservice level agreement override to override the designation of at leasta portion the first storage pool as obsolete managing the first storagepool would result in non-compliance with one or more factors of theservice level agreement.

Example 37

This example includes the elements of example 36, wherein the one ormore factors of the service level agreement include a minimum storageallocation for the first storage pool, a minimum free storage thresholdfor the first storage pool, and combinations thereof.

Example 38

This example includes the elements of example 35, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a data importance override to override thedesignation of at least a portion the first storage pool as obsolete ifmanagement of the first storage pool would result in reclamation ofstorage containing data bearing an indicator of high importance,reallocation of storage containing data bearing an indicator of highimportance, or a combination thereof.

Example 39

This example includes the elements of example 35, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a cost savings override configured tooverride the designation of at least a portion of the first storage poolas obsolete if management of the first storage pool would fail to meet apredetermined cost savings threshold.

Example 40

This example includes the elements of example 34, and further includesenforcing a third parameter of the at least one policy to control themanner in which obsolete storage of the first storage pool is managed.

Example 41

This example includes the elements of example 40, wherein enforcement ofthe third parameter causes reallocation at least a portion of theobsolete storage to the second storage pool, reclamation of at least aportion of the obsolete storage to the general cloud storage pool, or acombination thereof.

Example 42

This example includes the elements of example 40, wherein enforcement ofthe third parameter causes reallocation of at least a portion of theobsolete storage among a plurality of storage pools including at leastthe second storage pool and storage pools other than the second storagepool, the method further comprising prioritizing reallocation of theobsolete storage to one or more of the second storage pool and thestorage pools other than the second storage pool.

Example 43

This example includes the elements of any one of examples 30 to 42, andfurther includes: determining an impact of a proposed management ofobsolete storage; reporting the impact to a client user interfacemodule; and in response to a client affirmation message from the clientinterface module, managing the obsolete storage in accordance with theproposed management.

Example 44

This example includes the elements of example 43, wherein the collectingusage information includes performing an analysis sweep on the firststorage pool.

Example 45

This example includes the elements of example 44, and further includesinstigating the performance of the analysis sweep with a sweepinstigation message, the sweep instigation message comprisinginformation regarding the at least one first parameter of the storagemanagement policy.

Example 46

This example includes the elements of example 45, wherein the collectingusage information includes performing the analysis sweep on the firststorage pool to determine usage information relevant to the at least onefirst parameter.

Example 47

This example includes the elements of example 44, and further includesscheduling the analysis sweep based on scheduling parameters of the atleast one policy, user inputs, or a combination thereof.

Example 48

This example includes the elements of example 30, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to an initial instantiation of a first virtualmachine, and the managing obsolete storage includes deleting the initialinstantiation of the first virtual machine, designating at least aportion of the obsolete storage as unallocated free space, and producinga subsequent instantiation of the first virtual machine that isallocated a modified first storage pool that does not include at leastpart of the unallocated free space.

Example 49

This example includes the elements of example 48, wherein managing theobsolete storage further includes reallocating at least part of theunallocated free space to the second data storage pool, reclaiming atleast part of the unallocated free space to the general cloud storagepool, or a combination thereof.

Example 50

This example includes the elements of example 49, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to a first virtual machine and the secondstorage pool is allocated to a second virtual machine, wherein themanaging obsolete storage includes deleting data contained in theobsolete storage to produce unallocated free space and a modified firststorage pool not including the unallocated free space, migrating thefirst virtual machine to a thinly provisioned storage space in thegeneral cloud storage pool to produce a modified first virtual machinehaving the modified first storage pool allocated thereto, and deletingthe first virtual machine.

Example 51

This example includes the elements of example 50, and further includesreallocating at least a portion of the unallocated free space to thesecond storage pool, reclaiming at least a portion of the unallocatedfree space to the general cloud storage pool, or a combination thereof.

Example 52

This example includes the elements of any one of examples 30 to 42 and48 to 51 wherein the cloud storage, first storage pool, second storagepool, and at least one policy are hosted by at least one server device.

Example 53

This example includes the elements of example 33, wherein the first andsecond storage pools are allocated to first and second virtual machines,respectively, and the method further includes enforcing the at least onepolicy with a hypervisor controlling at least one of the first andsecond storage pools.

Example 54

According to this example there is provided at least one machinereadable storage medium having stored thereon, individually or incombination, instructions that when executed by at least one processorresult in the following operations including: collecting usageinformation from a first storage pool of a cloud storage furthercomprising at least one general cloud storage pool, the usageinformation indicative of the use of storage within the first storagepool; determining whether any portion of the first storage pool isobsolete storage by evaluating the usage information against parametersspecified by at least one policy governing the first storage pool; ifany portion of the first storage pool is obsolete storage, managing theobsolete storage by reallocating at least a portion of the obsoletestorage to a second storage pool allocated from the general couldstorage pool, reclaiming at least a portion of the obsolete storage tothe general cloud storage pool, or a combination thereof.

Example 55

This example includes the elements of example 54, wherein the at leastone policy includes a service level agreement, and the cloud storage isvirtualized in accordance with the service level agreement into aplurality of storage pools including at least the first storage pool andthe second storage pool.

Example 56

This example includes the elements of example 54, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to a first virtual machine and the secondstorage pool is allocated to a second virtual machine.

Example 57

This example includes the elements of example 54, wherein the at leastone policy governing the first storage pool includes a storagemanagement policy, the storage management policy comprising at least onefirst parameter for determining whether any portion of the first storagepool is obsolete storage, wherein the instructions when executed furtherresult in the following operations comprising: designating the analyzedportion as obsolete storage if the usage information indicates that theat least one first parameter is met for an analyzed portion of the firststorage pool.

Example 58

This example includes the elements of example 57, wherein the at leastone first parameter includes at least one of a free storage allocationthreshold for the first storage pool, a free storage buffer for thefirst storage pool, an expiration date for storage of the first storagepool, one or more indicator flags pertaining to data stored in the firststorage pool; a minimum dormant usage threshold for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a threshold access limit for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a cost savings threshold based on monetary savingsachieved that may be achieved by management of the first storage pool;authorship information pertaining to data stored in the first storagepool; and combinations thereof.

Example 59

This example includes the elements of example 57, wherein theinstructions when executed further result in the following operationscomprising: enforcing at least one second parameter of the at least onepolicy to override a designation of at least a portion of the firststorage pool as obsolete storage if the at least one second parameter ismet.

Example 60

This example includes the elements of example 59, wherein the at leastone policy further includes a service level agreement governing thefirst storage pool, and the at least one second parameter includes aservice level agreement override to override the designation of at leasta portion the first storage pool as obsolete managing the first storagepool would result in non-compliance with one or more factors of theservice level agreement.

Example 61

This example includes the elements of example 60, wherein the one ormore factors of the service level agreement include a minimum storageallocation for the first storage pool, a minimum free storage thresholdfor the first storage pool, and combinations thereof.

Example 62

This example includes the elements of example 35, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a data importance override to override thedesignation of at least a portion the first storage pool as obsolete ifmanagement of the first storage pool would result in reclamation ofstorage containing data bearing an indicator of high importance,reallocation of storage containing data bearing an indicator of highimportance, or a combination thereof.

Example 63

This example includes the elements of example 59, wherein the at leastone second parameter includes a cost savings override configured tooverride the designation of at least a portion of the first storage poolas obsolete if management of the first storage pool would fail to meet apredetermined cost savings threshold.

Example 64

This example includes the elements of example 58, wherein theinstructions when executed further result in the following operationsincluding: enforcing a third parameter of the at least one policy tocontrol the manner in which obsolete storage of the first storage poolis managed.

Example 65

This example includes the elements of example 64, wherein enforcement ofthe third parameter causes reallocation at least a portion of theobsolete storage to the second storage pool, reclamation of at least aportion of the obsolete storage to the general cloud storage pool, or acombination thereof.

Example 66

This example includes the elements of example 64, wherein enforcement ofthe third parameter causes reallocation of at least a portion of theobsolete storage among a plurality of storage pools including at leastthe second storage pool and storage pools other than the second storagepool, the method further comprising prioritizing reallocation of theobsolete storage to one or more of the second storage pool and thestorage pools other than the second storage pool.

Example 67

This example includes the elements of any one of examples 54 to 66,wherein the instructions when executed further result in the followingoperations including: determining an impact of a proposed management ofobsolete storage; reporting the impact to a client user interfacemodule; and in response to a client affirmation message from the clientinterface module, managing the obsolete storage in accordance with theproposed management.

Example 68

This example includes the elements of example 57, wherein the collectingusage information includes performing an analysis sweep on the firststorage pool.

Example 69

This example includes the elements of example 68, wherein theinstructions when executed further result in the following operationscomprising: instigating the performance of the analysis sweep with asweep instigation message, the sweep instigation message comprisinginformation regarding the at least one first parameter of the storagemanagement policy.

Example 70

This example includes the elements of example 69, wherein the collectingusage information includes performing the analysis sweep on the firststorage pool to determine usage information relevant to the at least onefirst parameter.

Example 71

This example includes the elements of example 68, and further includesscheduling the analysis sweep based on scheduling parameters of the atleast one policy, user inputs, or a combination thereof.

Example 72

This example includes the elements of example 54, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to an initial instantiation of a first virtualmachine, and the managing obsolete storage includes deleting the initialinstantiation of the first virtual machine, designating at least aportion of the obsolete storage as unallocated free space, and producinga subsequent instantiation of the first virtual machine that isallocated a modified first storage pool that does not include at leastpart of the unallocated free space.

Example 73

This example includes the elements of example 72, wherein managing theobsolete storage further includes reallocating at least part of theunallocated free space to the second data storage pool, reclaiming atleast part of the unallocated free space to the general cloud storagepool, or a combination thereof.

Example 74

This example includes the elements of example 73, wherein the firststorage pool is allocated to a first virtual machine and the secondstorage pool is allocated to a second virtual machine, and wherein themanaging obsolete storage includes deleting data contained in theobsolete storage to produce unallocated free space and a modified firststorage pool not including the unallocated free space, migrating thefirst virtual machine to a thinly provisioned storage space in thegeneral cloud storage pool to produce a modified first virtual machinehaving the modified first storage pool allocated thereto, and deletingthe first virtual machine.

Example 75

This example includes the elements of example 74, wherein the managingobsolete storage further includes reallocating at least a portion of theunallocated free space to the second storage pool, reclaiming at least aportion of the unallocated free space to the general cloud storage pool,or a combination thereof.

Example 76

This example includes the elements of any one of examples 54 to 66 and68 to 75, wherein the cloud storage, first storage pool, second storagepool, and at least one policy are hosted by at least one server device.

Example 77

This example includes the elements of example 57, wherein the first andsecond storage pools are allocated to first and second virtual machines,respectively, and the instructions when executed further result in thefollowing operations comprising: enforcing the at least one policy witha hypervisor controlling at least one of the first and second storagepools.

Example 78

According to this example there is provided a system arranged to performthe method of any one of claims 30-53.

Example 79

According to this example there is provided a device including means toperform the method of any one of claims 30-53.

Example 80

According to this example there is provided at least one machinereadable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that, in responseto being executed on a computing device, cause the computing device toperform the method according to any one of claims 30-53.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used asterms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention,in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalentsof the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it isrecognized that various modifications are possible within the scope ofthe claims. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all suchequivalents. Various features, aspects, and embodiments have beendescribed herein. The features, aspects, and embodiments are susceptibleto combination with one another as well as to variation andmodification, as will be understood by those having skill in the art.The present disclosure should, therefore, be considered to encompasssuch combinations, variations, and modifications

1-80. (canceled)
 81. A cloud storage management system comprising apolicy enforcement module and a storage management module configured toanalyze storage allocated to at least one first storage pool of ageneral cloud storage pool to determine usage information regarding thefirst storage pool and to report the usage information to the policyenforcement module; wherein: the policy enforcement module is configuredto enforce a storage management policy governing the management ofstorage allocated to the first storage pool, the storage managementpolicy comprising at least one first parameter for determining whetherat least a portion of the first storage pool is obsolete; the policyenforcement module is further configured to issue a storage managementcommand to the storage management module, the storage management commandinstructing the storage management module to manage obsolete storage ofthe first storage pool by reclaiming at least a portion of the obsoletestorage as free space of the general cloud storage pool, reallocating atleast a portion of the obsolete storage to at least one second storagepool allocated from the general cloud storage pool, or a combinationthereof; and the storage management module is configured to manage theobsolete storage in accordance with the storage management command. 82.The cloud storage management system of claim 81, wherein the at leastone first parameter includes at least one of a free storage allocationthreshold for the first storage pool, a free storage buffer for thefirst storage pool, an expiration date for storage of the first storagepool, one or more indicator flags pertaining to data stored in the firststorage pool; a minimum dormant usage threshold for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a threshold access limit for data stored in thefirst storage pool; a cost savings threshold based on monetary savingsachieved that may be achieved by management of the first storage pool;authorship information pertaining to data stored in the first storagepool; and combinations thereof.
 83. The cloud storage management systemof claim 81, wherein the policy enforcement module is configured todesignate at least a portion of the first storage pool as obsolete ifusage information indicates that the at least one first parameter ismet.
 84. The cloud storage management system of claim 81, wherein thepolicy enforcement module further includes at least one second parameterto override the designation of at least a portion of the first storagepool as obsolete if the at least one second parameter is met, whereinthe at least one second parameter includes a service level agreementoverride configured to cause the policy enforcement module to overridethe designation of at least a portion the first storage pool as obsoleteif management of the first storage pool would result in non-compliancewith one or more factors of a service level agreement governing thefirst storage pool.
 85. The cloud storage management system of claim 84,wherein the one or more factors of the service level agreement include aminimum storage allocation for the first storage pool, a minimum freestorage threshold for the first storage pool, and combinations thereof.86. The cloud storage management system of claim 81, wherein the policyenforcement module is further configured to: determine an impact of aproposed management of obsolete storage; report the impact to a clientuser interface module; in response to receipt of a client affirmationmessage from the client interface module, instruct the storagemanagement module to manage the obsolete storage in accordance with theproposed management.
 87. The cloud storage management system of claim81, further comprising a scheduler module, wherein the scheduler moduleis configured to instigate the performance of analysis sweeps on thefirst storage pool by sending a sweep instigation message comprisinginformation regarding the first parameter of the storage managementpolicy; and in response to the sweep instigation message, the storagemanagement module performs an analysis sweep on the first storage poolto determine usage information relevant to the first parameter.
 88. Thecloud storage management system of claim 81, wherein the first storagepool is allocated to an initial instantiation of a first virtualmachine, and the storage management module is configured to manage theobsolete storage by deleting the initial instantiation of the firstvirtual machine, designating at least a portion of the obsolete storageas unallocated free space, producing a subsequent instantiation of thefirst virtual machine, the subsequent instantiation being allocated amodified first storage pool that does not include at least part of theunallocated free space.
 89. The cloud storage management system of anyone of claim 81, wherein the first and second storage pools areallocated to first and second virtual machines, respectively, the cloudstorage management system further includes a hypervisor comprising atleast one of the policy enforcement module and the storage managementmodule, the hypervisor controlling at least one of the first and secondstorage pools.
 90. A method of managing cloud storage comprising atleast a first storage pool and at least one general cloud storage pool,the method comprising: collecting usage information from the firststorage pool indicative of the use of storage within the first storagepool; determining whether any portion of the first storage pool isobsolete storage by evaluating the usage information against parametersspecified by at least one policy governing the first storage pool; ifany portion of the first storage pool is obsolete storage, managing theobsolete storage by reallocating at least a portion of the obsoletestorage to a second storage pool allocated from the general couldstorage pool, reclaiming at least a portion of the obsolete storage tothe general cloud storage pool, or a combination thereof.
 91. The methodof claim 90, wherein the at least one policy includes a service levelagreement, and the cloud storage is virtualized in accordance with theservice level agreement into a plurality of storage pools including atleast the first storage pool and the second storage pool.
 92. The methodof claim 90, wherein the at least one policy governing the first storagepool includes a storage management policy, the storage management policycomprising at least one first parameter for determining whether anyportion of the first storage pool is obsolete storage, wherein if theusage information indicates that the at least one first parameter is metfor an analyzed portion of the first storage pool, the method furtherincludes designating the analyzed portion as obsolete storage.
 93. Themethod of claim 92, wherein the at least one first parameter includes atleast one of a free storage allocation threshold for the first storagepool, a free storage buffer for the first storage pool, an expirationdate for storage of the first storage pool, one or more indicator flagspertaining to data stored in the first storage pool; a minimum dormantusage threshold for data stored in the first storage pool; a thresholdaccess limit for data stored in the first storage pool; a cost savingsthreshold based on monetary savings achieved that may be achieved bymanagement of the first storage pool; authorship information pertainingto data stored in the first storage pool; and combinations thereof. 94.The method of claim 92, wherein the at least one policy further includesa service level agreement governing the first storage pool, the methodfurther comprising enforcing at least one second parameter of theservice level agreement to override the designation of at least aportion the first storage pool as obsolete managing the first storagepool would result in non-compliance with one or more factors of theservice level agreement.
 95. The method of claim 90, further comprising:determining an impact of a proposed management of obsolete storage;reporting the impact to a client user interface module; and in responseto a client affirmation message from the client interface module,managing the obsolete storage in accordance with the proposedmanagement.
 96. The method of claim 90, wherein the collecting usageinformation includes performing an analysis sweep on the first storagepool.
 97. The method of claim 90, wherein the first and second storagepools are allocated to first and second virtual machines, respectively,and the method further includes enforcing the at least one policy with ahypervisor controlling at least one of the first and second storagepools.
 98. At least one machine readable storage medium having storedthereon, individually or in combination, instructions that when executedby at least one processor result in the following operations comprising:collecting usage information from the first storage pool indicative ofthe use of storage within the first storage pool; determining whetherany portion of the first storage pool is obsolete storage by evaluatingthe usage information against parameters specified by at least onepolicy governing the first storage pool; if any portion of the firststorage pool is obsolete storage, managing the obsolete storage byreallocating at least a portion of the obsolete storage to a secondstorage pool allocated from the general could storage pool, reclaimingat least a portion of the obsolete storage to the general cloud storagepool, or a combination thereof.
 99. The at least one machine readablestorage medium of claim 98, wherein the at least one policy includes aservice level agreement, and the cloud storage is virtualized inaccordance with the service level agreement into a plurality of storagepools including at least the first storage pool and the second storagepool.
 100. The at least one machine readable storage medium of claim 98,wherein the at least one policy governing the first storage poolincludes a storage management policy, the storage management policycomprising at least one first parameter for determining whether anyportion of the first storage pool is obsolete storage, wherein if theusage information indicates that the at least one first parameter is metfor an analyzed portion of the first storage pool, the method furtherincludes designating the analyzed portion as obsolete storage.
 101. Theat least one machine readable storage medium of claim 98, wherein the atleast one first parameter includes at least one of a free storageallocation threshold for the first storage pool, a free storage bufferfor the first storage pool, an expiration date for storage of the firststorage pool, one or more indicator flags pertaining to data stored inthe first storage pool; a minimum dormant usage threshold for datastored in the first storage pool; a threshold access limit for datastored in the first storage pool; a cost savings threshold based onmonetary savings achieved that may be achieved by management of thefirst storage pool; authorship information pertaining to data stored inthe first storage pool; and combinations thereof.
 102. The at least onemachine readable storage medium of claim 99, wherein the at least onepolicy further includes a service level agreement governing the firststorage pool, the method further comprising enforcing at least onesecond parameter of the service level agreement to override thedesignation of at least a portion the first storage pool as obsoletemanaging the first storage pool would result in non-compliance with oneor more factors of the service level agreement.
 103. The at least onemachine readable storage medium of claim 98, further comprising:determining an impact of a proposed management of obsolete storage;reporting the impact to a client user interface module; and in responseto a client affirmation message from the client interface module,managing the obsolete storage in accordance with the proposedmanagement.
 104. The at least one machine readable storage medium ofclaim 98, wherein the collecting usage information includes performingan analysis sweep on the first storage pool.
 105. The at least onemachine readable storage medium of claim 98, wherein the first andsecond storage pools are allocated to first and second virtual machines,respectively, and the method further includes enforcing the at least onepolicy with a hypervisor controlling at least one of the first andsecond storage pools.